April 2003
Introduction
Over the last twenty-five years the State
of California has instituted one of the largest criminal
justice crackdowns on young people in the country. This
targeted assault on youth and communities of color has ripped
apart families and destroyed lives. During this period,
prison spending in California grew by 794% while higher
education spending increased by only 296% . This unprecedented
attack has been intensified by initiatives like Proposition
21, the so-called "Juvenile Crime Initiative,"
that allows courts to try juveniles as adults and expands
the definition of a "gang," and Proposition 184
(Cali's infamous "Three Strikes" law) that counts
many juvenile offenses as "strikes."
Knowing where to get the facts about this
system of injustice is a first step in exposing and confronting
that injustice. Being able to access and use information
in campaigns is often the difference between knowing that
a proposed law or new regulation is wrong and being able
to demonstrate to others why it's wrong and should be defeated.
This takes accurate and timely information. The Data Center
has been providing this type of information to organizations
for years.
Together with Books Not Bars we have created
this guide to help organizations identify the crucial links
between government institutions, politicians, and corporate
interests that work together to maintain a criminal justice
system that targets and incarcerates our youth at an alarming
rate.
About This Guide
We've created this research guide for youth
and criminal justice activists, organizers, and advocates
in California to use to quickly find criminal justice information
sources, including juvenile justice information and statistics.
This guide is organized by research topic and contains listings
of California government agencies on the state, county,
and municipal level that have information on everything
from juvenile arrest and incarceration rates to information
about local civilian police review boards. Organizers will
be able to reference criminal and juvenile justice facts
by going straight to the departments and officials who have
the data they need. This guide will be especially useful
for youth groups doing research on local and state police
forces and corrections, or investigating the demographics
of who's being targeted for arrests and imprisonment. The
guide will also be useful for groups who are looking into
which corporations and individuals are helping to fund the
Prison Industrial Complex.
We have tried our best to detail how to access
records both online and offline. We have provided contact
information (other than a web address) for all statewide
agencies and departments. Since contact information for
county and municipal agencies will vary across counties
and cities we do not attempt to provide a complete listing
of contacts. To find local phone numbers and addresses you
can do a quick Internet search or you can scan your phone
book's governmental listings section.
Now, more than ever youth and criminal
justice activists need access to information. This guide
is designed to help address that need. We hope you find
it useful and easy to use. If, however, you run into stumbling
blocks, have questions, or are unable to find the information
you need please feel free to contact the DataCenter at (510)
835-4692 or email us at datacenter@datacenter.org.
You can also check out our website, www.datacenter.org,
which has web-based research resources for a variety of
political issues (like welfare reform, education, environmental
justice, and corporate accountability-in addition to our
"Criminal Justice and Prisons" section).
A joint project of the DataCenter's Criminal
Justice Program & Youth
Strategy Project and Books
not Bars.
